Blue-in-Green:RADIO

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Smoove: Smoove Operator [Interview]

They say it takes many years to
become an overnight success, and for Smoove, becoming recognised as
one-half of soul and funk duo, Smoove & Turrell, it was actually in
the making for many years! It is something that seemed to happen very,
very fast though. Having their debut album, ‘Antique Soul’, released in
2009 by Jalapeno Records proved to be an instant breakout success and
garnered immediate attention and praise from fans and critics alike,
including BBC Radio’s Craig Charles, and subsequent soul music
aficionados housed on Solar radio and Starpoint Radio.

John
Turrell’s vocals aptly combined with Smoove’s tailored and multi-layered
production skills to create a project embraced, frankly, by anyone that
heard it. Praise, adoration and even further notoriety followed with
Smoove & Turrell’s sophomore relase, ‘Eccentric Audio’, which
continued to further reinforce the name ‘Smoove & Turrell’ as
genuine forerunners within the UK’s ever-emerging soul scene.

Not
one to rest upon his successes here, Smoove’s resume goes on to mark
even further achievements and successes, including being a leading
contributor to Record Kicks’ 2011 release, ‘Mo Record Kicks: Act Two’,
compiling the songs from the label’s current catalogue as well as
contributing a few of his own remixes to the project, including a
fantastic one for Nick Pride & The Pimptones’ ‘Waiting So Long’,
which would also go on to find a home on the group’s own 2012 remix
album (‘Remixed Feast of Jazz’), as well as Smoove’s own brand new remix
compilation, ‘First Class’.

Smoove’s production talents are
expertly showcased on this diverse compilation of remixes from Jalapeno
Records and they demonstrate why his skills are becoming those of
increasing demand. Blessed with his golden touch on this release art
acts including, Brenda Boykin’s ‘Hard Swing Travellin’ Man’, Electric
Empire’s ‘Baby Your Lovin’, The Bahama Soul Club’s ‘Nassau Jam’ and
Kraak & Smaak’s ‘Call Up To Heaven’. In the same way that The
Impellers caught many off-guard with their unorthodox cover of The Ting
Tings’ ‘That’s Not My Name’ from earlier this year, it may be even more
of a left-field turn wrapping your ears around Smoove’s funk-filled
remix of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’, as performed by
The Third Degree.

The songs are tackled with a confident mix
of soul, R&B, disco, Latin and funk providing excellent
accompaniment along the artist’s original recording with new life
breathed into them.

What can you say, the man’s clearly a Smoove
Operator, whether it be in the recording studio or the DJ booth, so
naturally, it’s our great pleasure to secure time with the UK’s very
own, producer extraordinaire, Smoove!

Before we go on to discuss the current release, can we talk about the
success of Smoove & Turrell? You’re two albums in and have garnered
a significant amount of praise for each release – you must be really
thrilled with the group’s success?
It’s been a real breath of
fresh air working on the project of Smoove & Turrell these last
five years and I’m overwhelmed with the amount of success we have gained
from all over the world.

What made you decide you wanted to pursue a career in music?
I was always into music as far back as I can ever remember. My father
had a large record collection which generally got played at loud volumes
in our home. I remember dancing to Spencer Davis Group and air-drumming
to Jimi Hendrix when I was about nine years old, but it was The Police
that really caught my attention. Probably down to the intricate drum
patterns.
I later got into breakdancing and then discovered hip-hop culture which is when I got into collecting and sampling records.
I
really wanted to make my own record so when I got my hands on a 4-track
recorder, the world was in my hands and anything seemed possible. It
wasn't long before I met some like-minded musicians that helped me get
to grips with programming and sequencing which soon got us our first
record deal with Big Life Records.

Following the efforts and remixes you
placed into the ‘Mo Record Kicks Act 2’ compilation of last year,
‘First Class’ is an album fans will certainly be excited to hear from
you – how did the idea initially come about for a remix album?
I had already made two Smoove solo albums on Acid Jazz Records in 2005
and 2007 – one called ‘Dead Mens Shirts’ and another called ‘Gravy’,
which contained a lot of remix work. Over the recent years I have done
so many remixes for different artists so I decided to compile a list of
some of the most recent remixes. There was about forty to choose from so
I sent the tracks to Jalapeño Records and offered them the idea of
doing a compilation album which became ‘First Class’.What makes you decide to tackle a song to remix, and how do you approach it?
I get offered a lot of remixes but don't always accept them as I will
only work on a song if I think I can bring something out of the original
version. I try not to work on instrumentals as I find them very
difficult for some reason. I’m a beat junkie so I will usually spend
most of my time getting the drums sounding really good and then most
things will usually fall into place.

How did you go about compiling the songs for ‘First Class’?
I really couldn't decide on the track list so I left most of it down to
Trevor from Jalapeño to pick the selections as I was happy to go with
any of the 40 tracks I had sent him.

Is
there anyone amongst the track listing for ‘First Class’ that you’d
particularly like to hit the studio with?
A lot of the
remixes feature great singers such as Brenda Boykin, Lex Empress from
Kraak & Smaak, Jon Allen, Sandra Nkake and my partner in crime John
Turrell, but I'd love to do a track together with Africa Bambaataa. He's
a legend and real hero of mine! I’ve already worked alongside Jess
Roberts on my early Acid Jazz albums.

How do you find DJing to a live crowd as opposed to performing as part of a band?
I love performing in both situations but they are so different from one
another in many ways. Performing as part of the band is very exciting
as there is always room for improvisation. The band is more of a team
effort where as DJing is much more of a solo act where I can control
things a bit more. I don't tend to work out my DJ sets as I like to
freestyle and take the mood wherever I feel it. I sometimes DJ along
side John Turrell where he sings along over my impromptu sets, which is
endless fun!

What’s next for you at this
point – will the solo work continue or are there plans to get back into
the studio with John Turrell for a third album?
I’m running two record labels – Wass Records and Wack Records, constantly touring with the live band and DJing.
I’m
back in the studio already working on another Smoove & Turrell
album and I’m remixing various artists as well as working on some new
Smoove solo projects!
All our tour dates and blogs can be found on www.smooveandturrell.com

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About Me

By day, I fight the crimes of grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors in the publishing industry while chained to a desk. But. By night... when my two litt ones are tucked up for sleep, I immerse myself within the wonders of the music world and nurture my obsession through the random ramblings and musings on The Blue-in-Green Blog.

All of that, you guessed correctly... while chained to my other desk.

The Blue-in-Green Sessions (hence the blog name) has existed since 2006 and focuses
on the very best that I can get my hands on in soul, jazz and funk
music.
The radio station and the blog aims to chronicle my adventures in soul music as I
discover new artists/albums and interview a fair few along the way too.
The plan is/was/and always will be to hopefully put you guys on to
something fantastic and new in the world of soul music. If you've never
heard of them, and like what you hear, then that's great; if it makes
you want to get in touch and pitch things my way, then that's even
better.